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Book Description

Azrael Thanatos wants nothing more than to follow in the footsteps of his scientist mother. Sent to study humans on a wager between the Eternal Emperor and Shay'tan, he has no idea Earth is gateway to a fiery prison. Far from home, he is befriended by Elissar, a precocious child with silver eyes. When Moloch instigates an invasion of Carthage to escape, Azrael sacrifices his life to snatch Elissar from the Devourer of Children's maw.

Saved by a mysterious mother-goddess, Azrael is given a new mission. Watchman. Roaming the Earth without shape or form, he searches for those who would help Moloch escape and drags them back to Gehenna, a prison which only Lucifer, debauch son of the Emperor, holds the key. It's a hellish immortality, for who wants to serve alongside the Fallen or exist when no living creature can survive your touch? Ki promised he would see Elissar again, but as time grinds civilizations into dust, Azrael begins to lose hope.

Then one day a child takes his hand and lives…

Life for Elizabeth is not easy. The Angel of Death took her family the night a drunk driver plowed through a stop sign and left her in a wheel chair. Azrael is forbidden to interfere as she bounces through foster homes, hardship, and grueling rehabilitation. Then one day he is forced to reveal he is not a figment of her imagination. Oh, how she hates this angel who has taken everyone she ever loved! She will defeat him! Even if she has to squeeze the life force from her own body! The invasion of Iraq inspires her to join the Army and become a trauma nurse, unaware Death has fallen in love with the woman who can defeat him.

Azrael Thanatos wants nothing more than to follow in the footsteps of his scientist mother. Sent to study humans on a wager between the Eternal Emperor and Shay'tan, he has no idea Earth is gateway to a fiery prison. Far from home, he is befriended by Elissar, a precocious child with silver eyes. When Moloch instigates an invasion of Carthage to escape, Azrael sacrifices his life to snatch Elissar from the Devourer of Children's maw.

Saved by a mysterious mother-goddess, Azrael is given a new mission. Watchman. Roaming the Earth without shape or form, he searches for those who would help Moloch escape and drags them back to Gehenna, a prison which only Lucifer, debauch son of the Emperor, holds the key. It's a hellish immortality, for who wants to serve alongside the Fallen or exist when no living creature can survive your touch? Ki promised he would see Elissar again, but as time grinds civilizations into dust, Azrael begins to lose hope.

Then one day a child takes his hand and lives…

Life for Elizabeth is not easy. The Angel of Death took her family the night a drunk driver plowed through a stop sign and left her in a wheel chair. Azrael is forbidden to interfere as she bounces through foster homes, hardship, and grueling rehabilitation. Then one day he is forced to reveal he is not a figment of her imagination. Oh, how she hates this angel who has taken everyone she ever loved! She will defeat him! Even if she has to squeeze the life force from her own body! The invasion of Iraq inspires her to join the Army and become a trauma nurse, unaware Death has fallen in love with the woman who can defeat him.

I absolutely loved the book. The story offers a whole new perspective about the universe which I found rather funny towards the end.

Pros:-interesting plot that will keep you engaged right till the end-great character development-sweet, innocent romance story that isn't filled with teenage angst and doesn't leave you wanting to wring your heart out-a refreshing setting for a story of this genre. The last half of the book mainly revolves around the wars set in Afghanistan and Iraq (think Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden)-detailed scenes during surgery (which I really enjoyed because most authors like to make characters pass out at this point to skip the details) but don't worry: it focuses more on the procedure and less on the gore and violence. Nothing you won't let your 13-year-old read, in my opinion-the story delivers a lot of meaningful messages that I really appreciate. Some are really subtle so you might not notice it until you engage in a book discussion with a friend

Cons:-if you are a Christian/Muslim, you might feel a little uncomfortable reading the book at the beginning. I know I did.-doesn't offer much in terms of surprises and twists-a lot of unexplained or unresolved plots that you will have to read the other series by Anna Erishkigal to understand (but you can get along relatively well even if this is your first read. It's just that reading the other works gives you a whole new insight to the depth of the supporting characters)-female protagonist feels a little too self-righteous at times, which can be quite annoying

Fascinating is the first word that comes to mind. Epic, breathtaking, captivating, and compelling are a few more.

A love story at it's core, Angel of Death is a fantasy based on Earthly history and Heavenly myth. Earth is a hellmouth that must be guarded by creatures of and from Heaven against incursions of the evil Moloch and his minions. Middle East conflicts through the millennia are background for the battles fought between Moloch's operatives and Heaven's agents. I found the Earthly and Heavenly politics to be a bit cumbersome, but ultimately, did not hinder the love story.

Azrael, the Angel of Death, is a solitary being that cannot touch anyone without killing them. Elisabeth bears the scars of a childhood accident which left her lame, orphaned, and lonely too. While the battles rage, Azrael and Elisabeth are two souls finding each other after 2,300 years apart. The romance between Azrael and Elisabeth was touching in so many ways!

This is not a light-hearted fantasy. It is serious, complex, transcendental, and at times, heartbreaking. But Angel of Death does have it's lighter moments. Several wonderful secondary characters add as much humor as they do drama, Lucifer being one of my favorites. Yes, I said 'Lucifer'!

Read this book if you like fantasy, angels (not guardian), romance, and history. Or if you just want to read a good story!

The warnings about the book the author included were not necessary for me as I'm pretty open to new story lines. This author has a unique style, one that grabbed me from the get-go. I read the other review about the protagonist being a tad self-righteous and I do understand that and yet given her story, it makes sense.I am VERY glad that this book was written because I have read through the first three of The Swords of the Gods Saga...not realizing there are 2 more that will be forthcoming. This book gives clues as to the outcome of those three, which helps during the waiting period!Overall the author, her series, shorter stories and this book are captivating(can't put it down even way too late at night on a work night) and stunning...Compared to some of the self-published books I've read on Amazon this wins hands down, and should be controversial enough to be a best seller! Hats off to the writer, her imagination and ability to share...great gift to the reading world. Thank you!

This book provides a sympathetic portrayal of the angel of death and Lucifer. It does for the Bible what Wicked does forThe Wizard of Oz

The main plot of the book concerns Azazael, the angel who helps people let go of their bodies, and his long-term relationship with a female human from Chicago.

There's a lot of Abrahamic mythology. I loved reading all that; though sometimes I was confused. I often had to consult Wikipedia. I don't think this is a negative though. It's great to read a book that makes me want to learn more!

The book is extremely romantic. Soulmate type of stuff.

The mythology in the book is woven around recent events in the Middle East. I liked how the author gave a new twist to things we have all seen in the news....or experienced ourselves.

I enjoyed this refreshing, beautiful love story about a young science nerd Azrael and the love of his life Elissar/Elisabeth. The romantic but troubled journey of these two was so fascinating. I haven't read anything like this before but will be looking at other work from this author. I purchased this book as part of a boxed set and am really glad I kept reading even though it's not my usual genre. I would recommend this book for teens as well as adults. Try it as I'm sure you will love it too.

More About the Author

Anna Erishkigal is an attorney who writes fantasy fiction under a pen-name so her colleagues don't question whether her legal pleadings are fantasy fiction as well. Much of law, it turns out, -is- fantasy fiction. Lawyers just prefer to call it 'zealously representing your client.' .Seeing the dark underbelly of life makes for some interesting fictional characters. The kind you either want to incarcerate, or run home and write about. In fiction, you can fudge facts without worrying too much about the truth. In legal pleadings, if your client lies to you, you look stupid in front of the judge. .At least in fiction, if a character becomes troublesome, you can always kill them off.

*Anna enjoys writing in a variety of styles and genres. Her flagship series, Sword of the Gods, is a galaxy-spanning epic fantasy / space opera saga written in the style of her favorite authors (J.R.R. Tolkein, Frank Herbert, George R.R. Martin, Diana Gabaldon) which started out as 'therapy' from her job as an attorney. Like the complex legal cases she handles Sword of the Gods has many moving parts, including multiple POV's, locations, and sub-plots, as she re-imagines the Wars in Heaven at the dawn of time. She envisions her characters as chess pieces as two old gods play with mortals over who will control the fate of the heavens.

Anna pleads the fifth about any resemblance the bad guys her hero kills off may bear to any opposing parties that 'needed killing' in her day job. She also pleads the fifth about her husband's allegations that she consumes far too much coffee and should SLEEP at night instead of spending all night on her computer, muttering to imaginary friends.

Anna also enjoys weaving stories around social issues that capture her attention in a variety of genres (since writing in the exact same genre all the time gets boring). Since Anna is a voracious reader of every literary genre on the planet, why limit yourself to writing in a single genre or style? So many books ... so little time to write and read them all! So ... if the sight of a doorstopper with a 3" spine makes you cringe, why not try one of Anna's 'more sensible length' [*quote*] books :-)

Children of the Fallen (fantasy/romance):-Angel of Death: A Love Story-A Gothic Christmas Angel (winner of 2014 eFestival of Words Best Novella)

The Watchmaker, a novellette

Song of the River (literary fiction/contemporary romance):-The Auction

Anna also writes non-fiction under her real name, which SHALT NOT BE NAMED...

CONNECT with Anna on Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest, or at www.seraphim-press.com